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Cathedral
| upkeep_cost = | sells_for = | effects = Reduces Unrest in this town by 1 and increases Power output by . | building_unlock = | unit_unlock = }} The Cathedral is a type of Town Building. The Cathedral may only be built by the Halflings, High Men, Nomads, Orcs, Beastmen, Draconians and Trolls. A town must already contain a Parthenon in order to construct a Cathedral. The Cathedral's base construction cost is . The Cathedral itself provides two important bonuses simply by existing in a town. Its most important benefit is reduction of Unrest by 1 point, meaning that the town will have one fewer Rebel than it would without the Cathedral. Furthermore, the Cathedral produces , fed directly to the town's controlling wizard. This Power can be invested in any way the wizard sees fit. Both bonuses are cumulative with those given by the Shrine, Temple and Parthenon. For the High Men, the Cathedral is one of two required buildings in order to produce Paladins - the High Men army's most powerful units. The Cathedral requires an Upkeep Cost of per turn for its maintenance. If you're pressed for Gold, a Cathedral can be sold back for . Description The Cathedral's in-game appearance is that of a gigantic, white-stone church cast in the Gothic style of western Europe. With a frontal facade, a cross-shaped nave, and soaring bell tower, these buildings are designed to be seen from very far away and lend the city a sense of prestige and civic order. It is hard to imagine creatures like Trolls erecting any building in this style, so to many races, the Cathedral's default appearance is most likely a substitute for whatever exotic (but similarly grandiose) architectural wonder they might conceive for worshiping their respective gods. In all cases, a Cathedral serves as the seat of power for a top-level clergyman of the host race, who interprets the will of a deity and is responsible for coordinating devotion in the entire surrounding region. The project is only available to races that have a religious faction powerful enough to support this process. Races and Construction Only 7 of the 14 Races have access to the Cathedral. They are the Halflings, High Men, Nomads, Orcs, Beastmen, Draconians and Trolls. These are the only races that maintain such a high degree of connection to their gods. Other races either lack interest in the subject, worship too many gods to warrant a dedicated temple to one of them, or simply lack the architectural skills required to build this elaborate structure. A town requires the Parthenon before it can build a Cathedral. If the Parthenon is missing, the Cathedral cannot be built. In fact, if the Parthenon is lost or sold off while the Cathedral is still in construction, the project will be canceled prematurely and cannot be restarted until this required building is rebuilt. Construction of a Cathedral costs , making it the second most expensive project in the game (after the Wizards' Guild). With such a high cost, only a few towns will be able to complete this project before the middle of the campaign. It is often unnecessary to build the structure before then anyway. Continuous Effects The presence of a Cathedral in a town has two separate effects, both of which are quite useful. They include reduction of Unrest in the town and extra production for the town's owner. Reducing Unrest First and foremost, the Cathedral will lower the town's Unrest by exactly 1 point. In other words, if the town has any Rebels (due to high Taxation, subservience to another race, or other reasons) the Cathedral will turn 1 Rebel back into a normal, productive citizen. This bonus is cumulative with the Unrest reduction given by all other religious structures - including the Shrine, Temple, Parthenon, Animists' Guild and/or Oracle. Note that only the Shrine, Temple and Parthenon are actually required before a Cathedral can be built. With these minimal structures and the Cathedral present in a town, it will have 4 fewer Rebels as it would without these structures. Power Output Bonus The Cathedral produces . This is added directly to the town's owner's Power rating. That wizard may distribute this extra point of Power just as he would distribute Power originating from any other source, such as the Fortress, Nodes, and so forth. Depending on the distribution, this can increase Mana production by per turn, increase Research by per turn, or hasten the improvement of the wizard's Spell Skill (or any combination thereof). Therefore, the more Cathedrals there are within an empire, the better its master's magical prowess will be. This bonus is also cumulative with the bonus from the Shrine, Temple and Parthenon. With all four structures in the same town, the town's Power output is higher than without them. Unlocked Town Buildings The Cathedral is the epitome of religious development in a town, and as such is a developmental dead-end. It does not unlock any further Town Buildings for construction. Unlocked Normal Units The Cathedral normally does not unlock any new units. However for the High Men, it is one of the two required components for producing Paladins. With the Armorers' Guild The High Men require both the Armorers' Guild and the Cathedral in order to create their strongest unit - but it is appropriately strong. These are the Paladins; holy knights who have no fear and even inspire other units to fight better. Paladins strike hard and deliver good damage even to well-armored opponents, thanks to their Armor Piercing skill. Furthermore, they are completely Immune to Magic, which gives them protection from almost all enemy spells, all Curses, and a large assortment of Special Attacks. While at least one unit of Paladins is on the battlefield, all friendly units receive a small bonus to their Melee Attack, Defense and Resistance scores - meaning that Paladins often work best as part of a large army. Strategy For a city that has no Unrest, a Cathedral is of very marginal benefit -- the net effect is , , which is a very poor return for . For a city that does have Unrest, it will allow converting one Rebel to a Worker; this is not terribly valuable if your Tax Rate is low and you have few or buildings, but on a highly developed city (Tax Rate 1.5, Marketplace, Bank, Sawmill, Foresters' Guild, Miners' Guild) the net benefit would be , , , which is somewhat more plausible. Still, it is very rare that you will want to build a Cathedral solely for its economic and production benefits. The Cathedral interacts with Divine Power and Infernal Power, for an additional and -1 Unrest. A Cathedral also interacts with Dark Rituals, for an additional . Finally, remember that High Men require the Cathedral in order to produce Paladins. These units are so powerful that the Cathedral is an absolutely essential structure for this race - and should probably be built in any advanced unit-production centers as early as possible. This is why productive High Men towns should develop down both military and religious branches. Category:Town Buildings